For those asking i have something similar to this: https://trollmasters.com/wired/trollmaster-pro/
HELP .. I need a kick!
- Thread starter mrozborn
- Start date
Old Cut LongPointer
Well-Known Member
While two strokes weigh less compared to 4 stroke of the same HP is a Plus, they like to run fast&hot for best performance and the 4 cycle will putt-putt all day so maybe a minus ? Two stroke means a separate fuel tank whereas you could run the 4 stroke off the main fuel tank but what if your problem is bad gas then your kicker could suffer the same problem ?
Crestliner16
Well-Known Member
I think the earlier recommendation is referring to 2 cylinder, not necessarily 2 stroke.
Windy Point
Well-Known Member
One of the issues I see with the 2 stroke as a kicker, a lot of the smaller lakes up north won't allow 2 strokes on the water.
I’ve never been to a lake with those regs. Are they more remote lakes?
My boat is 16’10”, maybe just a hair wider than yours. I’m running a 6hp 1 cylinder 4 stroke kicker. They are a little noisier that is true, but they are light and push a boat of that size along very well. I don’t have any regrets in that area. Some of the Mercs or tohatsu’s (same motor all Japanese made by tohatsu and rebranded for merc) you can get a rectifier kit for your house battery, even without electric start. It’s only around $125 for the parts. Well worth it to charge your battery while trolling. Anyway, as a guy who’s owned 2 cylinder and 1 cylinder kickers, I’m not bothered by the 1 cylinder and the reduced weight on the back of the boat is quite nice. As for a 2 stroke as a trolling motor? Not this guy. With respect to trolling motors, I LOVE my bowmount, and use the ipilot feature for trolling all the time, but I wouldn’t recommend it at all if I needed to get back 10 miles to shore.
Have you evidence of this @Windy Point ?
Have you tried this? My understanding is you don't get much charging done at low revs unless you have a special alternator. I think just running out and back for 30 minutes each way would keep the main charged, but it's worth looking into. You can't have too many options for charging!
Do you have any speed control on your kicker? Is the steering tied into your mains steering?
thanks for the reply
mike
Kbreks
Well-Known Member
I was in a similar situation last year looking for a kicker as a back up motor to get me in and also as a trolling motor. I have a 19 foot fibreglass. I went with a 2002 mercury 9.9hp long shaft. It has manual start and capability to charge (havent hooked it up). My only complaint over a 2 stroke is the weight difference. My motor is 112lbs. It seems like its going to break my transom. Having a 4 stroke and being able to tie it into my main fuel tank is also a huge plus, and probably the only reason im not using a 2 stroke. The steering linkage to the main drive is a must in my opinion. As for setting speed, i dont have much of an issue setting or maintaining speeds while trolling. If it was an emergency situation id just set it higher throttle but not max speed. Im not sure how many electronics you run but i have my VHF and my Lowrance elite fs 9 running all day (6+ hours) and have never had them drain my battery enough that i couldn't start my inboard engine. I do also keep 2 batteries on board incase for some reason one does go flat.
No but my marine mechanic says it will do the job pretty well over the course of 4-6 hours of trolling. I’ll be adding one, he’s never steered me wrong before. I no longer have a tie bar as my new boat is a 60hp tiller. I used to have the tie bar on my old windshield boat and that’s the way I’d go for sure if you have a console. It makes things easy. Don’t get the one that connects at the back, they are a huge pain. As for speed control it’s my hand. The tohatsus, Mercs, Suzukis generally have a knob you can lock down your speed. It would be nice to have a speed controller but I just deal with what I’ve got.
Well I've made a decision with help from everyone here who replied.
I'm buying a brand new Suzuki 6 HP manual weighing just 55lbs. I'm going to tie it into my mains for steering and because iTroll & Trollmaster don't make anything for Suzuki under 9.9HP I'm going to make my own speed controller. Hopefully I'll end up with what I want. Next project, maybe next year, steering control on the kicker so I can follow a bearing. Pretty sure I can make something. I'll post about it.
thanks All
mike
I'm buying a brand new Suzuki 6 HP manual weighing just 55lbs. I'm going to tie it into my mains for steering and because iTroll & Trollmaster don't make anything for Suzuki under 9.9HP I'm going to make my own speed controller. Hopefully I'll end up with what I want. Next project, maybe next year, steering control on the kicker so I can follow a bearing. Pretty sure I can make something. I'll post about it.
thanks All
mike
What do you mean? Don't they all connect at the back with the main steering? I've never done this so I'm asking all kinds of questions.
Kbreks
Well-Known Member
My guess is they are referring to an ez steer system vs one that would go in where a steering rod would attach at the front of the motor.
Windy Point
Well-Known Member
Good for you Mike.
Windy Point
Well-Known Member
This has my interests as well.
You want the front kind, not the back kind. EZ steers suck. I watched my buddy deep six his tie bar over 300 FOW on lake O. First one is good, second pic bad. Great choice on the Suzuki btw. I have a 2017 15hp zuke on my 16 foot tin boat at our place up north and my last boat sported the DF140, and it was an excellent motor. If at any point I dislike my new rides motor, I’m repowering with a DF75.
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Kbreks
Well-Known Member
Trick to the EZ steer is putting a pool noodle on them so they dont sink. But agreed they do suck. Unfortunately for the inboard/outboard guys we don't have much choice.